Jeannie & Galen Wedding

A couple months ago, I had the privilege of shooting with my good friend Junshien.  He's a kick butt photographer and moving fast in the wedding photography scene.  He shoots a lot with Scott Robert, who is known for his workshops and high-energy.  It's fun being able to work together in this industry to try and elevate each other.  I have met very few number of photographers who were closed off or seemed competitive.  I think David Jay's example of the more you give the more you receive in this industry is really true.  I've been finding that the more I give of my time and energy to my fellow photographers, the more they share the love back to me, sometimes ten fold!  Junshien, is one of those guys that does that and it's been fun helping each other out.  I'll be putting up a couple more weddings that I shot with other photographers last year, now that we're done with our own clients' work. 

Jeannie and Galen got married in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in front of the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Gardens.  I love second shooting, as it enables me to take on a whole different perspective.  It also reminds me how hard of a job it is to be a second shooter. 

 
The girls made the guys wait outside and bargain their way into Jeannie's apartment to pick her up.  This is one of those shots where I remember thinking, how do I capture this moment? 

Jeannie wore a beautiful traditional dress for the tea ceremony.

Reminds me of a Wong Kar-Wai film.  In the mood for love?  Ingrid likes how the light just wraps all around her.

This is one of those places that make me think that I'm somewhere in Europe, with that huge windmill in the back.

All the little details of the ceremony really made everything come together. 

While riding in the cable car, Jeannie and Galen decide to stop by Walgreens for some ice cream.  And cereal?  I LOVE this shot. 

Posing with ramen noodles.  Girls do the funniest things in front of cameras.  

Group shot at the Legion of Honor. 

Jeannie must have been watching Top Model, because her poses looked gooood. 

The guys fighting with parasols.  Never before did pink look so manly.  

 

The cable car that took us all around town.  

I love the composition in this shot.  The arrow, cityscape, grass, and of course the lovely couple!

Their reception was held at the Yank Sing.  Cool looking cake!

Yeeeaaaoow!  They had a photo booth from Red Cheese Photo Booths.  I'll have to scan my smoking hot session with Junshien and add it later.

 

Kevin & Connie's Wedding in Albany

Kevin and Connie's wedding in Albany was full of sweet surprises.  I will always remember this wedding as the one in which I was close to losing it during the ceremony.  Watching Connie walk down the aisle was a very emotional and joyous occassion.  Kevin had the biggest smile and Connie was holding back tears of joy.  We have so many pictures of the audience trying to hold it together.  It was one of those special moments where I realize how fortunate we are to be photographing such an important event.

After the ceremony we found ourselves at the elementary school grounds next door.  I love changing it up and shooting in different backdrops.  The playground and colorful walls were very fun to shoot.  We got into some really creative situations with the group and for a moment I thought about throwing my camera into the air for one of the shots below.  I had seen this type of shot being done before, but luckily, we didn't have to throw the camera into the air as there was a balcony nearby.  

The reception hall's main lights didn't work that night, so we had to shoot in near darkness!   Thank goodness for external flash lighting and pocket wizards!  We were able to capture some great shots of Connie's bridesmaids doing a special dance for them using our external strobes and low light lenses.  The CD wasn't mixed properly in the middle for their dance, but they kept on dancing without music, just like professionals would have done.  I was so impressed with them.  Nothing was going to stop this wedding!  We hope that this is a sign that nothing will stop you guys from staying together.  Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your wild and joyful day! 

Homer knew it was going to be one fine day for our couple.

 

I love the colors in this bouquet shot.

This is the point at which I seriously almost lost it.  They were both SO happy to see eachother.

 

I told you they were happy.

 

Playgrounds are fun!

Colorful backdrops are my favorite.  

Connie has a very cute and innocent face, but as her photographer I soon noticed that her best faces were the sultry ones.  Isn't that funny how that turns out sometimes?

Ingrid knew exactly how to pose these ladies!  Hot stuff.

The shot where I almost threw my camera up to take, but found a balcony instead.  One of these days I will have to throw it up for fun. 

No music was playing, but they kept on dancing and having a blast.